Textured embroidered fabric

ABSTRACT

A textured embroidered fabric is produced by stitching a first face yarn to a ground fabric and tying said first stitches in place by a soluble bobbin yarn on the back of said fabric, stitching a second face yarn fabric in a pattern which at least in part overlies the stitches of said first face yarn and tying said second stitches in place by an insoluble bobbin yarn on the back of said fabric, and washing said fabric with a liquid which dissolves said soluble bobbin yarn while leaving said insoluble yarn intact, whereby said first stitches are freed from said fabric and form a textured mass held in place relative to the fabric by the stitches of the second face yarn where they overlay the first stitches. Preferably, the first face yarn comprises continuous filament polyester of low twist and high heat shrinkage and the soluble yarn is polyvinyl alcohol, its dissolution being effected by boiling water. The ground fabric preferably comprises a polyester-cotton blend and, after dissolution of the polyvinyl alcohol, is padded with a permanentpress finish and oven cured, the cure serving to set the finish, shrink the polyester and dry the fabric. The fabric may then be brushed to help raise loops of the first face yarns.

United States Patent 1191 Krieger 1 1 TEXTURED EMBROIDERED FABRIC [76]Inventor: David Krieger, clo Emb-Tex Corporation, Greenville, SC. 29690[22] Filed: May I1, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 252,384

521 11.5. c1. 112/439 511 1m.c1. 1105c 17/00 [58] Fietd 0r Search112/439, 440, 403,

1121410, 411, 412, 266; 2/244, 246; D3/6 R, 6 A, 6 C, 6 D, 6 E', 28/75WT, 76 T, 77

Primary Examiner-Alfred A. Guest Attorney-Leonard Horn et a1.

[57] ABSTRACT A textured embroidered fabric is produced by stitching afirst face yarn to a ground fabric and tying said first stitches inplace by a soluble bobbin yarn on the back of said fabric, stitching asecond face yarn fabric in a pattern which at least in part overlies thestitches of said first face yarn and tying said second stitches in placeby an insoluble bobbin yarn on the back of said fabric, and washing saidfabric with a liquid which dissolves said soluble bobbin yarn whileleaving said insoluble yarn intact, whereby said first stitches arefreed from said fabric and form a textured mass held in place relativeto the fabric by the stitches of the second face yarn where they overlaythe first stitches. Preferably, the first face yarn comprises continuousfilament polyester oflow twist and high heat shrinkage and the solubleyarn is polyvinyl alcohol, its dissolution being effected by boilingwater. The ground fabric preferably comprises a po1yester-cotton blendand, after dissolution of the polyvinyl alcohol, is padded with apermanent-press finish and oven cured, the cure serving to set thefinish, shrink the polyester and dry the fabric, The fabric may then bebrushed to help raise loops of the first face yarns,

5 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures 1 TEXTURED EMBROIDERED FABRIC The presentinvention relates to textured embroidery and a novel process for itsproduction.

In making embroidery one or more face or motif yarns are successivelystitched to a ground base fabric using a bobbin yarn on the rear of thefabric to secure the stitches of each face yarn to the fabric. Thecolors and pattern of the various face yarns gives rise to designshaving a desirable appearance. Such designs have depth only to theextent that the stitches of one or more face yarns overlie one anotherin layers, i.e. the depth of the embroidered design is the sum of thethicknesses of the several overlying face yarns.

it is an object of the present invention to provide novel embroideredfabrics characterized by texture and depth of designs far in excess ofwhat was previously possible.

it is a further object of the invention to provide such texturedembroidered fabrics without requiring excessively large amounts of faceyarns.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a simple process forproducing such textured embroidered fabrics.

These and other objects and advantages are realized in accordance withthe present invention pursuant to which a textured embroidery on aground fabric is pro duced by stitching a first face yarn to said fabricand tying said first stitches in place by a soluble bobbin yarn on theback of said fabric, stitching a second face yarn to said fabric in apattern which at least in part overlies the stitches of said first faceyarn and tying said second stitches in place by an insoluble bobbin yarnon the back of said fabric, and washing said fabric with a liquid whichdissolves said soluble bobbin yarn while leaving said insoluble yarnintact, whereby said first stitches are freed from said fabric and forma textured mass held in place relative to the fabric by the stitchesofthe second face yarn where they overlay the first stitches. Dependingupon the design, composition of the face yarns and conditions ofprocessing, it may be advantageous thereafter to brush the face of saidfabric to raise therefrom the stitches of said first yarn intermediatethe points where it is held to the fabric by the stitches of the secondface yarn.

The ground fabric may comprise any fabric whether woven, knit ornon-woven although preferably it is woven and is reasonably inert to thesuccessive treatments except as noted herein. It may comprise naturaland/or synthetic yarns in whole or in part, although especially goodresults are achieved with blends cntaining cellulosic yarns sincesuitable treatments can elimi nate the need for subsequent ironing aftereach washing, e.g. blends of cotton and polyester in about 0.5-2] byweight are especially suitable although 100 percent polyester can alsosometimes be so fabricated as to eliminate the need for ironing. Inaddition to the foregoing, the fabrics may comprise in whole or in partother fibers such as rayon, nylon, acrylic, polyolefins. silk, protein,cellulose acetate or triacetate, saran, or the like, the terms beingemployed in accordance with the definitions of the Textile FiberIdentification Act. The yarns comprising the ground fabric may comprisecontinuous filaments or staple fibers ranging in denier from as littleas about l denier up to 25 or 50 or more although the individualfilaments or fibers are usually less than about l5 denier and generallyless than uhutll it) denier. They may be highly twisted or flat andtheir tightness of weave may be varied as desired.

To the ground fabric there is stitched a first face or motif yarnultimately intended to form the textured mass. Desirably this first faceyarn is shrinkable and is shrunk in the course of the subsequentprocessing by heat and/or liquid, such shrinkage adding to the texturedeffect and facilitating producing the textured effeet. The texturedeffect is also enhanced by low twist in the construction of such yarnsto which end use of continuous filament yarns is desirable. The chemicalcomposition ofthe yarns may also vary as widely as the ground fabricdescribed hereinabove. A preferred face yarn comprises continuousfilament polyester having less than about two turns per inch andpreferably less than about one turn per inch and shrinking at leastabout 2 percent and preferably at least about 5 percent in the course ofthe subsequent treatments.

The first face yarns are stitched to the ground fabric in conventionalfashion, being secured thereto by a bobbin yarn on the back of thefabric. in accordance with the present invention such bobbin yarn issoluble and in the course of later processing is subjected to atreatment whereby it is dissolved. The composition of the soluble yarnmay vary and is obviously attuned to the nature of the subsequentdissolution solvent. The face yarns and the ground fabric should not besoluble under the same conditions as the soluble yarn so its subsequentdissolution will be selective. The subse quent dissolution can beeffected in organic solvents, eg. acetone will dissolve secondarycellulose acetate, methylene chloride-methanol will dissolve triacetate,gasoline will dissolve polyolefins, chloroform will dis solve saran, andthe like. Obviously, however, water is the preferred solvent by virtueof cost, safety and availability. Consequently water-soluble bobbinyarns are preferred, although the pH of the water may be ad justed byaddition of acid or alkali to achieve best re sults. Representativewater-soluble yarns include alginate salts (or alginic acid in alkalinewater) although polyvinyl alcohol is preferred. The alcohol groupsthereof may be partially modified so long as the yarn as a whole retainsits solubility. Such yarns are available commercially and any so soldare suitable. The precise construction is not critical so long as itserves adequately as conventional bobbin yarns.

After stitching of the first face yarn is completed, there is stitchedto the fabric at least one second face yarn. The second face yarn canalso be of any composition and construction as described with referenceto the first face yarn, although preferably it does not shrink to asignificant extent since it could so cause puckering of the fabric. Thesecond face yarn is so stitched that at spaced points it overlies thefirst yarns for a reason hereinafter described. The second yarns aresecured to the fabric by bobbin yarns which differ from the previouslydescribed bobbin yarns in that they are not dissolved in subsequenttreatments. If desired, the face yarns held to the fabric by insolublebobbin yarns can also be laid down prior to the face yarns secured bysoluble bobbin yarns but, whether or not initially laid down, suchsecond face yarns must be stitched to overlay first face yarns.

Thereafter, the fabric is subjected to a treatment to dissolve thesoluble bobbin yarns Wi h colyuinyi aico ho! bobbin arns a suitabletreatment involves immcr- SiOfl in boiling water for a long enough time[0 effect dissolution which, to some extent, will depend upon theidentity and amount of the polyvinyl alcohol yarn, the pH of the water,and the like; alkali accelerates dissolution without unduly damaging theother fibers of the embroidered fabric. Detergents and surface activeagents will also help wash away the attacked soluble yarns. Desirablythe boil is followed by a hot rinse to remove polyvinyl alcoholresidues, chemicals, and the like. Thereafter, the fabric is dried inconventional manner, preferably in full width using a tenter frame.Desirably, as well, the dissolution is effected in full width to preventwrinkling.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention the fabric istreated prior to drying to restore the body lost in boiling. This can beaccomplished by starch or a size such as polystyrene but, where thefabric comprises a cellulosic fiber, preferably the fabric is paddedwith a permanent-press finish, i.e. methylolated or similarly reactivecompounds which attach themselves to the cellulosic hydroxyl groups.Where the insoluble bobbin yarns or face yarns contain cellulosiccomponents, they too will be reacted; for just such reason preferablythe first face yarn to be textured is cellulose-free. The act ofdryingthus also serves to set the finish.

During the previously mentioned boil, the soluble bobbin yarns aredissolved so that the first face yarns are secured to the fabric only bythe second face yarn stitches. The heat of the boil and/or subsequenttreat ment will promote shrinkage of the first face yarns along withtexturing or bulking thereof. The face yarns are lightly tacked throughto the rear of the fabric at the ends of each stitch during embroideringand such stitch ends are held by the bobbin yarns; when the bobbin yarnsare dissolved away such stitch ends frequently still project through tothe back of the fabric but the use of shrinkable yarns will oftentimesimpart sufficient contractile force to pull the stitch ends out from theback. If not, however, it may prove desirable to subject the finishedfabric to a brushing to raise loops of the first face yarns.

The embroidering obviously could be practiced manually butadvantageously it is effected on conventional embroidery equipment,except that some of the shuttles are provided with soluble thread oryarns. An especially desirable machine is one where different shuttlescan be simultaneously accommodated without having to stop the machinefor change over, eg a Saurer Schiffli 23 Model.

The invention will be further described with reference to theaccompanying drawing, werhein:

FIGS. 1, 3, 5 and 7 are photographs of the face of an embroidered fabricin accordance with the invention at successive stages in its production;

FIGS. 2, 4, 6 and 8 are photographs of the rear of the fabric at thecorresponding stages;

FIG. 9 is a photograph of the face of another embroi dered fabric priorto dissolution of the soluble bobbin yarn; and

FIG. I0 is a photograph of the face of the fabric of FIG. 9 afterdissolution of the soluble bobbin yarn and brushing.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, in FIG. I a face yarn 10is stitched to a ground fabric I2;

as seen in FIG. 2 the face yarn l0 stitch ends 14 are secured by abobbin yarn 16 of Soluble material, e g

polyvinyl alcohol.

In FIG. 3 a second face yarn 18 has in part been stitched over face yarnl0 and also forms a design such as the heart of the flower. FIG. 4 showsan insoluble bobbin yarn 20 which cooperates with the ends 22 of thestitches of yarn I8, although it is difficult to distinguish betweenbobbin yarns l6 and 20.

After the soluble bobbin yarns I6 have been dis solved away the face ofthe fabric has the appearance shown in FIG. 5 and the rear theappearance shown in FIG. 6. To give the full textured appearance thefabric is brushed whereupon the face has the appearance shown in FIG. 7and the rear the appearance shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 9 shows another embroidered pattern prior to removal of the solubleyarns. Face yarn 24 is first stitched into the illustrated pattern witha soluble bob bin yarn (not shown) and face yarn 25 is then stitchedinto its illustrated pattern with the lower ends of the stitches of yarn24 generally being secured by yarn 26. Upon removal of the solublebobbin yarn the embroidery takes on the textured appearance shown inFIG. 10.

The invention will be further described in the follow ing illustrativeexample.

EXAMPLE A blue polyester yarn comprising two ends of 100/40 Rotosetplied with one turn per inch is stitched into the pattern illustrated inFIG. I, using a polyvinyl alcohol bobbin yarn. The polyester has aresidual boiling water shrinkage ofabout 6 percent. The ground fabric isa 96 X 72 weave of combed cotton count /35 polyester staple-cottonblend. The second face yarns are green and comprise conventional cottonembroidery yarns of 40/2 count held in place by cotton bobbin yarns of/2count. The embroidered fabric is passed in full width continuously fromone roll to another and back for 60 minutes during which time it isimmersed in boiling water containing softener and rendered alkaline byaddition of sodium hydroxide. The boiling water is then dropped and thefabric is rinsed in the same manner for 15 minutes with water at I40F.The rinse water is dropped and the beamed embroidered fabric is passedthrough a pad and then through an oven on a tenter frame. In the pad thefabric is refinished with Dur-o-set H- l I I permanent finish sold byCharles S. Tanner Co. and continuously conveyed through an oven which issupplied with hot air at 320F', the residence time in the oven is 1minute. Thereafter, the fabric is brushed with light steel fingerstaking on the appearance shown in FIG. 9.

It will be appreciated that the instant specification and example areset forth by way of illustration and not limitation, and that variousmodifications and changes may be made without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An embroidered fabric comprising a base fabric, a first face yarn,said first face yarn being of a heat shrinkable material, a second faceyarn stitched to said fabric and securing said first face yarn thereto,a first bobbin yarn of insoluble material on the back of said fabricholding the stitches of said second face yarn in place, and a secondbobbin yarn of soluble material on the back of said fabric additionallyholding said first face yarn in place.

ric, the stitches of said second face yarn partially overlying the firstface yarn and thereby securing said first face yarn to said fabric, anda first bobbin yarn of insoluble material on the back of said fabricholding the stitches of said second face yarn in place.

5. An embroidered fabric according to claim 4, wherein said first faceyarn comprises continuous filament polyester.

2. An embroidered fabric according to claim 1, wherein said first faceyarn comprises continuous filament polyester.
 3. An embroidered fabricaccording to claim 1, wherein said soluble second bobbin yarn comprisespolyvinyl alcohol.
 4. An embrOidered fabric comprising a base fabric, afirst face yarn of heat shrinkable material said first face yarn havingbeen shrunk and having a textured configuration, a second face yarnstitched to said fabric, the stitches of said second face yarn partiallyoverlying the first face yarn and thereby securing said first face yarnto said fabric, and a first bobbin yarn of insoluble material on theback of said fabric holding the stitches of said second face yarn inplace.
 5. An embroidered fabric according to claim 4, wherein said firstface yarn comprises continuous filament polyester.